Product Reviews

Photos On CD & DVD is Magix's suite of applications designed to let you create slideshows and back up images to optical discs. However, two of the three programs included are also in Magix's Photo Manager suite, so if you already own that application, think carefully before buying Photos On CD.

Both suites also contain the Music Manager MP3 player, which seems to have been thrown in simply to make up the numbers. The Photo Manager program is also included in both suites, although its presence makes sense.

As the name implies, Photo Manager allows you to organise your collections of digital photos. You can group photos together into albums, or categorise them under headings such as Holidays or Family and Friends. The application also includes a number of basic photo-editing tools, such as the ability to adjust brightness, contrast and colour settings, and remove red eye.

The third element in the suite, which sets it apart from the Photo Manager suite, is Photos On CD & DVD, a program that allows you to create photo slideshows that you can burn on a CD or DVD. We know that's not exactly original, but taken on its own terms Photos On CD & DVD works very well.

It

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looks a bit like a video-editing program. On the right-hand side of the screen is a browser that allows you to locate and select photos and music files (for the slideshow's soundtrack) quickly. The browser can also be used to view the various transitions and special effects that are available for use in your slideshows.

Opposite the browser, on the left-hand side of the screen, is a preview window that allows you to view your slideshow as you put it together. Finally, running along the bottom of the workspace is the Time Line, which acts like a storyboard for your slideshow.

To create a slideshow, you just drag a selection of photos from the browser into the Time Line. If you're in a hurry, you can just hit the 1 Click button. The program will ask you to select a template and audio soundtrack, and will automatically create the entire slideshow for you, complete with a selection of transitions and effects to liven it up.

If you want a bit more control over the slideshow, you can click on individual photos in the Time Line and edit them in various ways. You can crop or resize each photo, add pan-and-zoom effects, transitions and other special effects, and there's a rather nice Title Editor that allows you to create some quite sophisticated animated text effects for titles and captions.

The program works very well. The only problem is that most photo-editing programs these days routinely include tools for creating slideshows, so if you already own an editor such as Photoshop Elements or Paint Shop Pro you really won't need to buy additional slideshow software such as this. However, if you're new to digital photography and would like to experiment with slideshows on your PC, Photos On CD & DVD is an efficient and affordable way to get started.